Taylor Swift Condemns Apple's Free Music Trial in an Open Letter

In an open letter to Apple, Taylor Swift explains that Apple Music won’t be getting her latest album 1989, because the service isn’t planning to pay artists, producers, or writers during the 3-month free trial period subscribers enjoy when they sign up.

The letter, which appeared today on the singer’s Tumblr, explains that the decision isn’t about her own profit (no doubt, Taylor Swift still stands to earn significant net gains by forking her music over to Apple Music), but rather, it’s about fairness to new and upcoming songwriters and producers, for whom early album sales are critical:

This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field…but will not get paid for a quarter of a year’s worth of plays on his or her songs.

Swift applauds Apple for working toward the goal of paid streaming, but points out that “three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing.”